| Sarah Heinonen
sheinonen@thereminder.com
Category:
EAST LONGMEADOW — The former Pride gas station at the rotary in East Longmeadow is the new home of MVPT Physical Therapy, formerly Cypress Physical Therapy.
MVPT Physical Therapy is operated by physical therapists Sarah Jacob and Robert Crawford and receptionist Destiny Davila.
The physical therapy clinic is a part of a network of physical therapy businesses known as Baystate Physical Therapy. The group is not affiliated with Baystate Health Center in Springfield, Jacob emphasized. The company is headquartered in Braintree with 150 clinics across the northeast. The new name, MVPT, is shared with several of the businesses in the network and is an acronym for Most Valuable Patient in the healthcare Team.
Jacob said the practice was at its former location, 1739 Allen St., Springfield, for about three and a half years. In that time, it has grown to serve one to two patients per hour, about 100 people each month. Now, the business has simply outgrown its former space.
“It’s definitely a larger space,” Davila said of the new office at 14-16 Center Sq. “There’s been a lot of growth. It’s time for bigger and better things.”
“We’re very excited,” said Jacob.
Aside from the increased space, there are other benefits to the move. The old location shared a wall with a gym, and the sound of heavy equipment was distracting, particularly when performing an intake with a new patient. Davila said with a laugh, “They play good music sometimes, though.”
The new location allows for more privacy when working with patients, Davila said, a standalone building. The single-story layout provides street-level access, which will be helpful to the clinic’s mobility-challenged patients.
“There’s a lot of awareness being in the rotary,” Jacob said, but the “easy access” from Pleasant Street limits any traffic issues it may have otherwise caused.
Davila said she was not concerned that the change in location would negatively impact their client base.
“It’s very close [to the old location] and honestly, a lot of our patients like coming here,” she said. Jacob said the goal is to “provide the same care. We want to target new patients while keeping our current clients happy. We’re reaching more people in the community but having more space to help them. Same personality, different face.”
MVPT Physical Therapy will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. on Friday.